Inspiration

The loneliness of entrepreneurship

The loneliness of entrepreneurship

Inspiration, Reflections

When I started my first business in 2001, I was not prepared for the loneliness of entrepreneurship. I’m an introvert, so escaping the corporate cubicle hive of my HR career was actually a relief. I didn’t miss the office politics and forced social situations. Working alone in my home office suited me perfectly. Building all the bits of pieces of a service business was fun, and I loved the creativity and freedom. Then there was the exhilaration of hiring staff, and landing my first clients. I also joined a local entrepreneurship organization for networking and collaboration. 

The days were busy. I dealt with people all the time. So where does the entrepreneur loneliness come in?

It creeps up. 

It does, even for an introvert. And here is why:

1. Isolation

Entrepreneurship is isolating. There may be a team and a community, but there is just one seat for the driver. 

And this isn’t natural, for humans. Being social is our genetic heritage, going back millions of years. Studies credit it for our development of language and technology and all the stuff that allows you to read this on whatever little gadget you are holding right now. 

But it takes more than being social to combat the loneliness of entrepreneurship. We need a sense of belonging. A feeling of connection with like minded people. Unless you are lucky to have fellow entrepreneurs in your family or household, this is tough to find.

As entrepreneurs, it is easy to feel isolated because we are often the “other.” Though all our time is spent with people, we are never in a peer group. There is always an exchange involved. In our business, we are the boss and have a responsibility to lead. With clients, there is the responsibility to serve. Then with suppliers, we are the clients negotiating a deal. And in entrepreneurship organizations, we are representing our brand to network and collaborate. All these interactions are transactional, not inclusive. Spending all our time in these professional relationships without a feeling of inclusivity is a key reason for the loneliness of entrepreneurship.

2. Image and Identity

By nature, entrepreneurs multitask and juggle many projects, tasks, activities, and responsibilities. It’s part of our identity. We are a leader, and the boss. It’s always a public role, on a large or small scale.  Every business is different, but all entrepreneurs are involved in some level of marketing and promotion. It could be local TV and radio, print publications, social media, public speaking, billboards, or podcasts. One way or another, entrepreneurs are out there to build their business and increase brand awareness. This requires presenting an image of strength and confidence. 

However, that strong public image and identity leads to isolation because it doesn’t leave room to connect with people on a personal level. As explained earlier, relationships tend to be transactional. People engage because they want to be your customer, or land you as a client. And because of the responsibility to represent your brand and maintain the image of strength, these interactions are all professional. If someone asks how things are going, the answer must always be positive. Even if you are in the middle of a terrible, stressful, challenging week.

3. Confidentiality

This is another reason for the loneliness of entrepreneurship. The matter of confidentiality is a barrier to connecting with people. Not every business has high-value intellectual property to protect, but every business has reason to want confidentiality. Entrepreneur loneliness creeps up because we can’t talk honestly about our issues and challenges with other business owners. Vulnerability is necessary to bond with people on a personal level, and this isn’t possible when confidentiality is a concern.

An inside baseball talk about your sector and market is fun, informative, and provides a valuable sense of belonging. This is why there are thousands of industry conferences every year in the US alone. It’s a safe space that allows for personal connections to develop. As a franchisor, I attended a few Canadian Franchise Association conventions. These were valuable for 3 reasons. The workshops and keynotes built my skills and inspired me. And I met amazing people who understood the joys and challenges I was facing. Shop talk about franchising was enjoyable, and I made one very good friend that way.

However, these kinds of conversations can reveal sensitive information. Details about strategic plans, weaknesses, or pricing strategy require confidentiality. If this knowledge were to get out, it could negatively impact valuable competitive advantages. This creates another barrier that leads to the loneliness of entrepreneurship. It doesn’t feel safe to share freely because of the need for confidentiality, and this prevents the feeling of connection and inclusion.

Personally, I found that the people I trusted didn’t have the knowledge or expertise to provide meaningful feedback and support. And the people who could help were competitors, or close friends with competitors, or just untrustworthy gossips. 

4 ways to cope with the loneliness of entrepreneurship

There are many strategies to help prevent entrepreneur loneliness. It comes down to building connections outside of the circle of employees, suppliers, and customers. This is a little tougher for introverts, but there are some great books which can help with that.

1. Mastermind Groups

Online or in person, mastermind groups are a safe space to connect with other entrepreneurs. There is generally a code of confidentiality, and often groups don’t have competing businesses, so you can be free and honest. Also, mastermind groups are a way to access a broad range of ideas and expertise, which can give you valuable perspective on your business.

2. Mentors

Having a mentor is a powerful way to prevent isolation as an entrepreneur. It’s a chance to brainstorm solutions with someone who knows your sector. Because sharing freely, feeling heard, and being encouraged are all effective for creating a sense of inclusion.

3. Fitness & Fun

Getting out of the bubble of our business to have fun is a healthy way to stay balanced. After all, the mental health benefits of exercise and laughter is well known. Taking time for fitness and hobbies that you enjoy gives the brain a break and creates opportunities to connect with people. 

4. Entrepreneurship Organizations

Finally, a benefit of most networking groups is that memberships usually allow only 1 business per sector. Not having a competitor in the group opens up the possibility to develop friendships. Joining an entrepreneurship organization is more than learning and referrals – real connections can be made. I actually married someone I met in my BNI Chapter!

Book recommendations to cope with loneliness

Loneliness as an entrepreneur book recommendation

As Taylor Swift said once, “The scary news is, you are on your own now. But the cool news is, you are on your own now.” This is especially true for entrepreneurs.

Loneliness as an entrepreneur book recommendation 2

It can be lonely at the top. This book shares tools and strategies for women leaders and business owners.

Conclusion

As shown above, it is very common for entrepreneurs to experience isolation and lonliness at one time or the other. Clearly, this is challenging for mental health and productivity. However, there are strategies that can help business owners cope. Specifically, joining mastermind groups, having mentors, taking time for fitness and hobbies, and joining an entrepreneur organization can help prevent the loneliness of entrepreneurship. 

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Lessons from Estée Lauder for entrepreneurs

Lessons from Estée Lauder for entrepreneurs

Inspiration

Before Estée Lauder was the name of a global billion dollar brand, she was just a girl with passion and a dream. Sound familiar? Back when she was born in 1908, in New York City, the world was very different. Women couldn’t even vote, for one thing. Estée got her start selling skincare products that her uncle, a trained chemist, developed in a make-shift lab. She then created a face powder, a lipstick, and then a perfumed bubble bath that transformed the cosmetics industry. Estée Lauder was an innovator and a disruptor who changed consumer behaviour. Valuable lessons from Estée Lauder for entrepreneurs will inspire and motivate you as you build and manage your small business. But first, let’s look at the reasons why she was so influential.

 

This post may contain affiliate links. I will receive a small commission if you use these links, at no additional cost to you. For the full disclosure, visit this page.

3 Top Reasons Why Estée Lauder was influential

Daily life, marketing tactics, and business operations were very different back when Estée Lauder was building her brand. But there are 3 top reasons why Estée Lauder was influential. Technology, society, and consumer behaviour may be different, but much of what she did is timeless.

Estée Lauder was a marketing genius

Here – have a sample, and try out this new cleanser. Though it’s common practice now, when Estée Lauder was building her brand, this wasn’t a thing. She introduced using free samples as a marketing tool. It’s a smart and effective way to reduce barriers to purchase. Giving customers the opportunity to use, try, and test a product or a service establishes consumer trust and positively influences buying decisions. This tactic is still used today, across all sectors – even in e-commerce! There are free trials of software services, free returns of products within 30 days, and Amazon has introduced a Try Before You Buy program.

Basically, Estée built her brand with word of mouth campaigns. She understood that people telling people about her products was more powerful than an expensive billboard or newspaper ad. “Telephone – telegraph – tell a woman” was her mantra. And as a marketing genius, she put herself in the shoes of her customers, and considered their perspective and experience. This approach is still recommended by top business schools and marketing experts. 

Estée Lauder broke barriers for women

Equality and empowerment for women were embedded in the company culture from the very start. In the 1960s, Estée Lauder was a place of employment and opportunity for women, at a time when women were still expected to consider “housewife” as their only career. Today, the company still makes history.  Over 50% of the leadership team at The Estée Lauder Companies are women. Most notably, almost half their Board of Directors are also women – at a time when on average, corporate boards only have 25% women.

Estée Lauder built a multi-generational business

Have you heard of the 3-generation myth? There are different expressions for it, which all express the same concept – the father buys, the son builds, the grandchild sells. Note that all these expressions use the male gender. Patriarchy runs deep! 
And here, Estée Lauder was influential. She built her global brand as a multi-generational business. The company was privately owned by her family for decades, right up to 1995. Her children and grandchildren are billionaires and still have shares of the now publicly traded company. Top leadership still includes Lauder family members, so they remain involved and active in the company Estée built.

I was unstoppable, so great was my faith in what I sold.

Estée Lauder Tweet

3 lessons from Estée Lauder for entrepreneurs

She has been described as having a “challenger spirit”, which makes sense. For a woman to build a powerhouse brand using her name when women were usually secretaries and receptionists – she must have been a force of nature! The times have changed, but these 3 lessons from Estée Lauder for entrepreneurs are as valuable today as they were decades ago. 

Lesson 1: Keep the message simple

First of all, she kept her message simple – every woman can be beautiful. As a tagline and as a concept, it’s timeless. No matter what trends come and go, that simple message has an impact. It’s a message that fit when she started out with just 4 products, and still fit when  Estée Lauder grew to be a global brand with many product lines. This is a great lesson for entrepreneurs today. In this age of information we are flooded with content, and attention spans are short. Consumers today can be easily distracted by shiny things, so a complicated message gets lost. Keep it simple. As Simon Sinek says in his  must-read book for entrepreneurs, start with your why.

Lesson 2: Don’t let barriers be obstacles

In the 1960s, Estée Lauder wanted to scale her business and start marketing. However, colour ads were beyond their budget. Clearly, that could have been an obstacle. Alternatively, she could have overextended their financials and bumped up to colour ads. Instead, she saw this barrier as an opportunity to be unique. They ran with black and white photos, and embraced it. Black and white ads became part of their brand. This “Estée Lauder look” helped the brand differentiate from competitors. The lesson here is that sometimes, instead of overcoming something, you can go around it. The beauty of entrepreneurship is that we (mostly) have the room to be creative and innovate.

Lessons from Estee Lauder

Lesson 3: Innovate to differentiate

As shown above, Estée Lauder was a disruptor who knew how to innovate. When she was building her brand in the post-war 1950s, the cosmetics industry was pretty small. Perfume was only worn for special occasions. Women were gifted perfume for birthdays, anniversaries, or holidays. Simply, it just wasn’t a social norm for a woman to buy perfume for herself. As a result, Estée knew that if she could give women a reason to buy scent, the potential market would explode in size. So in 1953, she created a scented bath oil, with a fragrance designed to last a full 24 hours. This innovative product was called Youth Dew. When it launched, it “Middle America went bananas for it” and sales reached 5,000 units a week – astounding for the time. This innovative product not only set the Estee Lauder brand apart from everyone else, it boosted revenues, transforming the small business into a million dollar company. The lesson for entrepreneurs is that instead of copying what everyone else is doing, look for ways to innovate and create something unique.

 

Conclusion

Estée Lauder may have been born over 100 years ago and did business in a very different environment. But her groundbreaking marketing tactics, and committment to creating leadership opportunities for women had lasting impact. She stuck to a simple brand message, never let a barrier be an obstacle, and innovated to differentiate – which are all valuable lessons from Estée Lauder for entrepreneurs.

 

 

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journaling tips for entrepreneurs

Journaling Tips for Entrepreneurs

Inspiration, Leadership, Reflections

It seems like journalling is everywhere, and for good reason. Studies prove that people who keep a journal experience many positive outcomes. These benefits include improved mood, lowered blood pressure, and less anxiety. This sounds great as a business owner, but I believe journalling is more than that. It’s a practise that, when done right, can increase success as an entrepreneur. To gain these benefits, read on for these journaling tips for entrepreneurs.

Journalling Benefits for Entrepreneurs

The benefits of journalling for entrepreneurs are widely recognized. Many successful founders credit keeping a journal as an important part of their journey. And this isn’t new. For centuries, creatives and entrepreneurs have kept journals. Prolific inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci left behind about 50 notebooks of observations, notes, and ideas. Scientist Marie Curie kept journals, which are now stored in a lead box – because they are still radioactive. And arguably one of the most famous journals was kept by businessman and old-school VC investor Samuel Pepys. 

I’ve been journalling since I was about 8 years old. Of course, the methods and purpose of journalling changed throughout the years. When my children were small and I was neck-deep in building a brand and franchise system, my journal was both a comfort and a coping strategy. Some days, I journalled to celebrate wins, and record what I felt great about. Often, I used my journal to process thoughts during challenges. It was helpful to write out my feelings and rationale when making big decisions in my business. These are just some of the journalling benefits for entrepreneurs.

Here are 3 strategies for using a journal to increase success as an entrepreneur.

Separation between personal and business

Entrepreneurs generally have few boundaries between life and work. Journalling allows for more separation between personal life and business. A journal is a safe space to express feelings and frustrations. Being a business owner means keeping on a game face for staff, suppliers, and customers. It just isn’t professional to vent about staffing problems to clients. This is a key cause for the loneliness of entrepreneurship.

Of course, there is the love and support of family and friends. But that has limits. Because really, how often do they want to listen to you blather on about the same issues? Start a journal, and have a private place to vent. Write about all the frustrations of the day. It’s a free-style stream of consciousness. There is no need to explain yourself. You can write about the same problem again and again, without judgement. Then you can leave it behind and be present with family and friends. This allows for more separation between personal and business, which is very healthy. After all, anything that supports your mental health will increase your success as an entrepreneur.

“The starting point of discovering who you are, your gifts, your talents, your dreams, is being comfortable with yourself. Spend time alone. Write in a journal.”

Robin Sharma Tweet

Stress management

Let’s face it, being the boss is hard. There are challenges from customers, staff, and suppliers. Things don’t always go to plan. People make mistakes, and technology fails. As the business owner, it’s usually up to you to put things right. Expressing thoughts and emotions provides a release of anxiety and worry. Using a journal to process feelings about what is going on in business is an effective way to cope with stress.

Entrepreneurship can be brutal. In fact, many founders have shared stories of the burden of responsibility that comes from starting and growing a company. And for every celebrated successful business, there are countless stories of founders struggling to pay the bills and dealing with overwhelm. Start a journal and have a new strategy for stress management. Also, a 2018 study showed that expressive writing about stressful or emotional events improved physical and psychological health.

Insight and understanding

Good business management involves reviewing performance metrics and reports. Journalling isn’t a replacement for that. It’s a way to level up and deepen your understanding. Analyzing reports is an important part of working on your business. However, these don’t show what actions and events contributed to those numbers. Start a journal and track the thought processes behind decisions, and the timeline of changes. This gives you insight and understanding into what is driving the results you are seeing.

In addition to recording behaviours and actions, also share your feelings and hopes. For example, if you decide to change a supplier, note down all the reasons why you are making the switch. Also, write about why you selected the new provider, and what benefits or advantages you hope to gain from the new relationship. This is an effective method for tracking the outcome of decisions you make in your business.

3 Steps to start a journal

Next, here are 3 steps for how to start a journal 

First, select what method of journaling works best for you. There are many options. After all, the global market for paper notebooks is USD 21 billion, and still growing. You can pick your favourite colour from the line of classic Moleskine books. Or you can choose something specific for entrepreneurs, like this intention setting and gratitude journal. If you want to shop local to support a small business, there are options on Etsy and local bookstores.

As much as I love beautiful notebooks, there are many benefits to choosing a digital journal. Penzu is a secure online journal that gives you options to personalize fonts, colours, and backgrounds. There is a free version, and paid plans

Once you’ve chosen what kind of journal you want to keep, here are ways to get started.

1. Schedule time

This may seem obvious. But adding a new activity to your routine requires intention. Until journalling becomes a habit, schedule time for it. Though journaling doesn’t have to be daily, consistency is key. Think about what makes sense for you and your schedule. For example, if Fridays are really busy in your business, it may not be realistic to expect to make time to journal. However, to leverage your journal to increase success as an entrepreneur, aim for at least once a week. Block 30 minutes in your schedule and give yourself that space to record, reflect, and vent in your journal.

2. Set goals

Take a moment to think about your intention for journalling. Is this mostly a way to manage stress? Or is it more important that you record your decision making process? Setting specific goals for journalling gives you more purpose. This is motivating and helps you form this new habit. Also, be flexible. It is possible that you’ll start out expecting to use your journal in a certain way, and it will evolve. Moreover, be open to how journalling will change and adapt over time.

3. Categorize

Structure your journal for your future self to use to reflect, review, and analyze. Use categories to make it easier to access information in your journal. If using a digital, online journal, then use titles for entries so they can be searched. For example, create an entry for “New Ideas,” one for “Marketing,” and another for “Customer Service.” Journal on these topics and date each one, so your future self can review thoughts, ideas, and decisions in these categories. If using a notebook, use post-its to separate the book into sections. Alternatively, have separate notebooks for different topics.

Journaling tips for entrepreneurs

Learning how to journal is more than developing the daily habit. Journalling is a powerful way to increase success as an entrepreneur. How? I’ll explain.

Essentially, it’s an opportunity to review and reflect. Journalling has the immediate benefits of expression and processing. However, the real power of a journal is to increase success as an entrepreneur. Incorporate reading your past journal entries as part of of working on your business.

Certainly, you may not want to read every line of a stream of consciousness about that time an employee makes a big mistake. However, if you have titled and categorised your entries, then you have valuable information to help you improve your business. Scan over the past weeks and months, and see what patterns emerge. For example, if you notice that you write about your bookkeeping stress every month, it may be time to upgrade your software, processes, or hire help. Or if there are many entries about staffing stress, then revisit your hiring process, training program, or performance management system.

Overall, starting a journal takes some structure, planning, and time. However, there are the immediate benefits of stress management and better separation of work and home. But the real power comes from being intentional with your journal writing and revisiting your entries to spot ways to improve your business. And as business owners, every opportunity to increase productivity and profits are a good thing.

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